"The ninja from Konoha came again!"
"Should we report to Lord Madara?"
"Of course! Idiot!"
"What shape is their poop like?"
Emerging from the ground, four white men despairingly looked towards the direction of Nagato's familiy and began to communicate.
These four white men were arranged by Uchiha Madara to monitor the condition of the Rinnegan host near Nagato's house.
With the appearance of Kizaru, who entered and left Nagato's residence twice in one day, they naturally became vigilant.
After some discussion, one White Zetsu was chosen to return to the base and report the situation to Madara.
In the house, several people who had already eaten dinner were sitting in the living room chatting.
Together with Kizaru, Tsunade answered the questions of the couple, Ise and Fuso, temporarily dispelling their concerns. They agreed that when the troops withdrew, they would take them back to Konoha.
After making the agreement, Kizaru and Tsunade didn't linger for long. They took the initiative to bid farewell and left the house.
It was still wartime now, and the two of them couldn't stay away from Amegakure for too long.
When they returned to the village, they happened to meet Jiraiya, who had come out to find them.
"Where have you been? Tsunade, Kizaru?" Jiraiya asked quickly as soon as he saw them.
"Eating!"
With great understanding, Kizaru and Tsunade answered in unison.
After speaking, the two couldn't help but look at each other and smiled.
With a constipated expression, Jiraiya barely smiled and said, "Ebizo from Sunagakure has come, hoping for a ceasefire and reconciliation with us."
Speaking of this, Jiraiya's smile on his face showed a little more genuine emotion.
Jiraiya, who loved peace, was the one who least wanted the ongoing conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure to continue.
"Where?" Tsunade smiled when she heard Jiraiya's words and asked.
"In the guest room. Let's go!"
With that, Jiraiya led Kizaru and Tsunade towards the meeting room of Amegakure.
When the three arrived at the meeting room, Danzo and Ebizo had already begun their discussion.
"Sunagakure shamelessly launched a surprise attack on us. Such behavior is unforgivable," sitting in the main seat, Danzo preemptively placed Konoha in the position of the victim.
Faced with Danzo's accusations, Ebizo wanted to deny, but looking at Hanzo sitting opposite him expressionless, Ebizo understood that denial was meaningless.
His ally in the ambush plan, Hanzo, had already sided with Konoha. Denying now might anger Konoha and Hanzo.
For Sunagakure, which had lost the Third Kazekage and Chiyo, facing Konoha alone was already a considerable pressure, let alone facing Konoha and Amegakure.
Thinking of this, Ebizo felt a sense of sadness and melancholy rise in his heart.
The Land of Wind, one of the Five Great Countries, had fallen into a situation where they had to be cautious of both the Hidden Rain and Hanzo within just one day.
It was truly humiliating!
"For this attack, on behalf of Sunagakure, I sincerely apologize to Konoha. We are willing to compensate for this," standing up from his seat, Ebizo faced Danzo and bowed to apologize.
Kizaru and the others who rushed to the meeting room happened to see this scene of Ebizo apologizing.
Maintaining a calm smile on his face, Kizaru walked into the room and sat directly to the left of Danzo, beside Hanzo.
Silently shifting his position to give Kizaru more space, Hanzo looked kindly towards Kizaru.
"Oh ho ho! Thank you so much, old man!" said Kizaru with a smile as he sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs lazily and looking casually at Ebizo.
Kizaru's movements were quite noticeable, and naturally, Ebizo noticed him.
The two locked eyes, and Ebizo immediately recognized Kizaru's identity.
The genius strongman from Konoha, Danzo's nephew, the one who defeated and killed the Third Kazekage, the Golden Flash of Konoha, Shimura Kizaru!
"Is this the Golden Flash of your village, Shimura Kizaru?" Ebizo asked Danzo, knowing the answer already.
With a smile, Danzo put on airs and said, "Indeed, he's my useless niece!"
Useless?
How shameless!
At that moment, both Ebizo and Danzo rarely shared the same thought in their minds.
"Capturing the Raikage, killing the Kazekage, with such achievements, you call him useless?"
"Truly promising!" genuinely praised Ebizo.
After praising Kizaru, Ebizo returned to the main topic, continuing, "Regarding this attack, we are willing to make the greatest effort to compensate, and we hope to form an alliance with Konoha in the future, with Konoha as the leader, advancing and retreating together."
As Ebizo spoke, the expressions of those present changed.
Forming an alliance, and promising Konoha as the leader! This was no longer an equal alliance; it was a fraternal alliance, with Konoha as the elder and Sunagakure as the younger!
Indeed, Ebizo, the strategist of Sunagakure, was worthy of admiration. He had the courage to give up even the dignity of a great nation for the sake of peace and reconciliation.
Whether it was Danzo or Hanzo, as old and experienced figures, they understood what kind of criticism Ebizo would face when he returned to the village if he really signed such a ceasefire and reconciliation agreement on behalf of Sunagakure and Konoha.
Even more so, if Ebizo did sign such a reconciliation agreement, his political life and reputation in Sunagakure would be utterly ruined.
Expressionless, Danzo nodded calmly and said, "So-called alliances are nothing more than the temporary submission of the weak to the strong. I want to see your true sincerity."
Regarding reputation, Danzo desired it, but what he desired more were tangible benefits.
In this great victory, his nephew contributed the most and achieved the most.
Danzo couldn't waste such an opportunity; he had to obtain the greatest practical benefits from Sunagakure, so that the village's shinobi could see and enjoy the benefits.
Only then would those shinobi who benefited from the spoils of war be more supportive of Kizaru.
Danzo wanted the village's shinobi to understand that as long as they supported Kizaru, everyone could enjoy tangible benefits.
Upon hearing Danzo's response, Ebizo couldn't help but feel bitter.
For this negotiation, Ebizo had prepared two sets of plans.
The first plan was to reduce the substantial compensation through sacrifices in reputation and dignity, to preserve the capital for the village's maximum recovery.
But from Danzo's words, Ebizo understood that Konoha's "Darkness of Shinobi" wouldn't buy that; they wanted real benefits.
The Land of Wind was poor, and Sunagakure, which received less support from nobles and big names, was even poorer.
Coupled with the ambitious Third Kazekage, who depleted the village's reserves to strengthen its military power, Sunagakure now had little to offer.
"I wonder how much compensation your village desires?" Looking at Danzo, Ebizo asked cautiously.
"20 billion in cash and 30% of the mission quota for the next 20 years," Danzo, who had long planned this, made an audacious demand.
Eyes widening, Ebizo exclaimed emotionally, "Elder Danzo, I'm afraid I can't accept such harsh demands. If Konoha insists on such compensation demands, then even if Sunagakure is destroyed, we will never surrender!"
Watching the emotional Ebizo, Danzo didn't speak, just shifted his gaze to Kizaru beside him.
Although he didn't say anything, Danzo's eyes conveyed one message: Get on with it!
"Oh ho ho! How terrifying!" initially just enjoying the show, Kizaru, after receiving Danzo's gaze, smiled and said, "Destroyed, huh? Must be quite amusing!"
After speaking, Kizaru looked at Hanzo beside him and added, "Right, Uncle Hanzo?"
"What do you want from me?"
Hanzo, who just wanted to live an idle life for now and didn't want to offend Sunagakure too much, lest they face retaliation after Konoha withdrew its troops, could only choose to speak up under increased pressure from Kizaru's smiling gaze.
"Yes! I'm very interested too!"
Maintaining his composure, Hanzo looked at Ebizo and said, with a hint of resentment in his voice, "We can't accept such demands from Sunagakure!"
Not changing his expression, Ebizo looked at Hanzo and internally cursed, then turned to Kizaru, who was still smiling beside him.
"Is this the will of Konoha? Although Sunagakure is weak, we are not cowards afraid of death!"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes! Sunagakure's shinobi are all as strong as monsters!" Kizaru echoed.
"You!" Ebizo naturally heard the sarcasm in Kizaru's words and couldn't help but show anger on his face.
"Kizaru, mind your manners!" Worried that Kizaru might provoke Ebizo too much, potentially causing a collapse, Danzo had to speak up to ease the tension.
After stopping Kizaru's attack, Danzo turned to Ebizo and said, "Let's hear your conditions, Ebizo!"
Watching Danzo, Ebizo put on a tragic and sorrowful expression, gritted his teeth, and said, "I represent Sunagakure and am willing to compensate Konoha with 800 million in cash, to be paid over three years, plus a mission quota of 20% for the next ten years. This is our bottom line, Danzo!"